Category Archives: Challenges

The Fall Cotton Patch Quilters’ Challenge is to create mini quilts inspired by art! You may choose any piece of art to inspire you- it can be classical or modern, anything from a masterpiece from a famous artist, a painting by a local artist hanging in a small gallery or folk art. Just take a specific work of art and translate it into fabric and thread using your unique artistic vision.

For example, the first picture below show a quilt made by Australian quilter Cath of Wombat Quilts, inspired by the second picture, The Starry Night painting by Vincent Van Gogh.

Cath of Wombat QuiltsStarry Night

SIZE: Your mini quilt should have dimensions from 9×9″ to 20×20″…any size or shape in between.

CONSTRUCTION: Pieced or appliquéd, quilted by hand or machine; and bound.

INSPIRATION: Please bring a photo of the artwork that your quilt was inspired by.

Below are idioms with their definitions. Please make a quilt that measures 24”x36”, which
represents one of the idioms. You can use any technique you like, pieced, appliquéd, or
both. You may use any colors you like, but must include black and white, and there should
be enough black and white fabrics mixed into the colors so that the black and white are
recognizable. No borders are allowed on the quilt. You may add any embellishments you
would like. The quilt will be due at the June Potluck meeting.
Jodie Seila, Co-Chair, Challenge Committee

A hot potato
Speak of an issue (mostly current) which many people are talking about and which is usually disputedA penny for your thoughts: A way of asking what someone is thinkingActions speak louder than words: People’s intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they sayAdd insult to injury: To further a loss with mockery or indignity, to worsen an
unfavorable situationAt the drop of a hat: Without any hesitation, instantlyBack to the drawing board: When an attempt fails and it’s time to start all overBall is in your court: It is up to you to make the next decision or stepBarking up the wrong tree: Looking in the wrong place, accusing the wrong personBe glad to see the back of: Be happy when a person leavesBeat around the bush: Avoiding the main topic, not speaking directly about the issueBest of both worlds: All the advantagesBest thing since sliced bread: A good invention or innovation, a good idea or plan
Bite off more than you can chew: To take on a task that is way too bigBlessing in disguise: Something good that isn’t recognized at firstBurn the midnight oil: To work late into the night, alluding to the time before
electric lightingCan’t judge a book by its cover: Cannot judge something primarily on appearance:Caught between two stools: When someone finds it difficult to choose between two
alternativesCosts an arm and a leg: Something is very expensiveCross that bridge when you come to it: Deal with a problem if and when it becomes necessary, not beforeCry over spilt milk: When you complain about a loss from the pastCuriosity killed the cat: Being inquisitive can lead you into an unpleasant situationCut corners: When something is done badly to save moneyDevil’s Advocate: To present a counter argumentDon’t count your chickens before the eggs have hatched: Don’t make plans for things that might not happenDon’t give up the day job: You are not very good at something, you could definitely
not do it professionallyDon’t put all your eggs in one basket: Don’t put all your resources in one possibility

Ombré (pronounced omb-ray) is a French word meaning “shaded”. It means having tones of color that blend into each other, graduating from light to dark. Think of the color gradations on paint chips, for instance. Ombré is a trendy and popular design element in everything from clothing to nail polish to hair color, and of course, quilts.

The first part of your challenge is to play with color values and create a quilt with ombré design elements. It could be monochromatic, showing shades of a single color. It could be a two tone quilt with one color blending into another or a rainbow quilt involving a whole spectrum of colors- we just want to see gradations in color, no matter how you choose to do it.

The second part of the challenge is to dive into your scrap basket and include them in this quilt. Your challenge quilt should have at least 50% fabric scraps, defined as smaller pieces of fabric left over from other projects. We are working on the honor system here. Feel free to swap fabric scraps with your friends!

There are no size restrictions. This challenge is due at the December 2017 meeting.

My challenge to you is to take a traditional log cabin block and alter or adapt it in a new way. Log Cabin includes a whole family of strip pieced blocks, including Barn Raising, Streak of Lightning, Courthouse Steps, Whitehouse Steps, and literally hundreds of others. You may change the structure, play with value, omit a part, add something, or whatever you choose. You must be able to explain how your work relates to the traditional block.

The second part of the challenge is to use some polka dot fabric in your piece. It needs to be more than just a tiny obscure square or strip; it should be a contributing fabric to the overall design.

Your challenge piece may consist of one, several or many blocks. There are no size restrictions.

The challenge to you is to include text in a quilt. Words may be printed, appliqued (any method), stamped, written by hand, printed by computer, stitched or any other method that you may think of. To fulfill the challenge, you must apply the words yourself; using commercial fabric that has writing as part of its design will not count.

You must also use at least three floral fabrics in your quilt.

There is no size requirement other than the upper limit. All sides of the quilt added together should not exceed 160 inches. It may be as small as you wish.

The title of our challenge is “It’s a Southern Thing,” and the idea is to make a quilt representing something that is characteristic of the southern United States. It may be something that you like about south or something that you don’t like; It may be serious or light-hearted; it may be significant or insignificant. I hope you will have fun with it!

The challenge to you is to create a self-portrait in fiber. This does not have to be realistic! It
may be your inner you, the way you wish you looked, or the way you remember looking at some time in the past. It may also represent what’s important to you, a person or place or activity. Try to think of something that reveals the real you. This doesn’t have to be serious; it can be whimsical or fun.
All sides of the piece should add up to 80″. That means it can be a 20″ square, or a 15″ by 25″ rectangle, or whatever shape you wish, as long as all the outer edges added together equal 80″. There should be a recognizable spot of red somewhere on the piece. It needs to be bigger than just a line of red quilting thread.
This is due at the December 2015 potluck meeting, where we will display the pieces and vote on our favorite.